Great Portland Estates plc Commits to 90,000-Sq-Ft Soho Square Estate Redevelopment in London's West End

Great Portland Estates plc (GPE) announced on Oct. 21, 2026, that it has committed to the redevelopment of its Soho Square Estate, W1, in London's West End. The approximately 90,000-square-foot scheme will include 75,000 square feet of Grade A offices and 15,000 square feet of prime retail space fronting Oxford Street. Demolition is expected to commence shortly, with completion targeted for summer 2030.

Great Portland Estates Soho Square Estate Scheme: Key Details

The Soho Square Estate sits at the eastern end of Oxford Street and backs onto Soho Square. The redevelopment is designed to deliver a headquarters building into a West End office market where high-quality supply is limited, the firm said.

The office space will offer typical floorplates of around 12,000 square feet, a size the firm described as increasingly sought after in the West End market. The scheme will also include extensive outdoor space, high-quality amenities and strong sustainability credentials. Under the previously amended planning consent, the building comprises a basement, lower ground, ground and eight upper floors, with private terraces and a communal roof terrace.

The project is located minutes from Tottenham Court Road station and the Elizabeth line. GPE said the scheme will strengthen its presence along the Elizabeth line and complement its existing cluster of Soho buildings, including 141 Wardour Street, W1, and 16 Dufour's Place, W1.

From Options Analysis to Redevelopment Commitment

GPE's 2026 annual-results materials described the Soho Square project as a headquarters building with flagship Oxford Street retail, terraces and a communal roof terrace. The company had been preserving flexibility between a redevelopment and a potential Fully Managed refurbishment while neighbor agreements took longer than expected. The latest announcement indicates the redevelopment route has been selected.

The commitment is a development decision rather than a property sale.

West End Office Market Backdrop

The announcement comes as West End occupier demand concentrates on high-quality, centrally located space while new supply remains limited. Average West End Grade A rents reached £134.17 per square foot in August 2026, according to Savills, about 42% above the prior year. Other market data put average West End prime rents at £166.61 per square foot at year-end 2025, up 6.1% year over year.

Grade A availability in the City and West End was below 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025. In the Mayfair and St James's submarkets, prime rents exceeded £200 per square foot, with further deals reportedly under offer above that level.

West End leasing activity reached 2.79 million square feet year-to-date by September 2026, up 27% from the comparable period a year earlier, although activity fell 61% month over month after a particularly strong July.

GPE's Broader Development Pipeline

GPE's latest results reported that 2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2, completed on time and on budget and was 100% pre-let. Three on-site headquarters schemes were approximately 50% pre-let, while the company delivered three Fully Managed schemes totaling approximately 77,000 square feet.

The company reported £223 million of remaining capital expenditure across five on-site development and refurbishment schemes, with three additional headquarters schemes remaining in its pipeline.

Outlook

With completion targeted for summer 2030, the Soho Square Estate redevelopment positions Great Portland Estates plc to deliver a mixed-use building combining office floors of around 12,000 square feet with Oxford Street retail space. Falling construction output and limited new Grade A deliveries are expected to keep the supply gap open in the West End.

Sources

• Great Portland Estates plc: GPE commits to redevelopment of its Soho Square Estate, W1